


make your days merry and bright

by straightforwardly



Category: Love Nikki Dress Up Queen
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Holidays, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 02:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17034522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/straightforwardly/pseuds/straightforwardly
Summary: Kimi misses the party, but she and Nikki have their own celebration.





	make your days merry and bright

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NainaInTheSky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NainaInTheSky/gifts).



Momo slept face-first on an emptied cake platter, his little paw clutching at a mountain of crumbs. Bobo sat slumped over in the nearest chair, her head pillowed against her folded arms, also asleep. Each time he exhaled, Momo’s tail twitched, tapping against her nose. Nikki had to laugh quietly to herself at the way Bobo’s face scrunched up, her nose twitching, until with a faint grumble and a flicker of her eyelids, she shifted so that her face was tucked against the crook of her elbow, and slept further.

She snapped a quick picture of them to preserve the memory. The camera’s shutters whirled more loudly than she’d expected, and she went still, suddenly worried that she’d disturbed them. But all Momo did was let out a soft snore—Bobo didn’t react at all—and after a few moments Nikki let out a soft sigh of relief.

Everyone else had already gone home for the night. The lights of the salon had already dimmed, with the glow of the fairy lights she and her friends had strung up around the room earlier that day giving off most of the remaining light. Dirtied plates and tea cups sat scattered over the long table where Momo and Bobo slept, waiting to be taken to the kitchen. Stacks of opened presents—Nikki’s and Momo’s and Bobo’s—sat on the other end; everyone else had already taken theirs home with them. Scattered all over the floor were scraps of wrapping paper, confetti, and glitter. In particular, the small stage they’d set up for Sofia against the far wall glittered wildly. Sofia hadn’t been able to stay for very long, but Nikki was grateful that she’d taken even that much time out of her busy schedule to celebrate the holidays with the rest of them.

It was a right mess, and cleaning it up would be no small task—but when Nikki looked around, all she could see were the after-echos of the light, laughter, and warmth that had filled the past afternoon. Even the shadows of lost friends lingering in her heart seemed to lighten. 

Humming to herself, Nikki started clearing the table. Technically, Bobo and Momo were supposed to be helping with the clean-up, but Nikki couldn’t bring herself to disturb them. Not when they were sleeping so peacefully. She didn’t mind doing the clean-up alone; there was something soothing about the repetition of it all, and it left her mind free to daydream about new styles. Apple Apparel Group had recently released a dress that she thought might go surprisingly well with a necklace she’d picked up over in Ruin…

Absorbed in her task, she didn’t hear the door to the salon open—not until a pair of small hands began to help stack the dirtied plates onto the tray. 

She looked up, a smile blooming across her face. She nearly forgot to keep her voice low as she exclaimed, “Kimi! You made it!”

“I’m not sure if it qualifies as ‘making it’ if I arrive only in time for the clean-up,” said Kimi wryly. 

She looked tired; shadows were beginning to make their home under her eyes. But to Nikki’s eyes, she was still radiant. Kimi wore all white—a white coat with a furred hood and cuffs, a white dress hemmed with a black lace trim, white leggings, and tall white boots with black laces. She looked like sunlight shimmering against snow—a bright point against the night’s shadows—and it made Nikki’s throat ache to look upon her. Even the circles under her eyes added to her beauty, if only because they made her seem more real; like this, there could be no denying that Kimi was truly there before her, in the flesh. 

She didn’t know what she had done to deserve having such a wonderful person as her girlfriend. 

Nikki swallowed down a sudden surge of giddiness. She couldn’t stop smiling. “In time for the clean-up still counts as ‘in time’! Here, let me take that coat—” 

Kimi obliged, though she took advantage of Nikki leaning down to take it from her to steal a kiss, her fingers—still cold from being outside—cupping Nikki’s cheek. Her mouth tasted after stale coffee—always a clear sign of a stressful day—and Nikki clutched Kimi closer to herself. One kiss turned into three or four; she didn’t know how much time had passed by the time they finally separated.

Some of the exhaustion had left Kimi’s eyes. She allowed Nikki to go hang her coat on the coat rack for her, though she put her foot down when Nikki tried to offer her something to drink and one of the few remaining slices of cake.

“I’m here to help out, not make more of a mess,” she said, crisp and firm. 

Together, the clean-up went much faster: in no time at all, all of the dirty dishes (save for the platter Momo slept on) were cleared away, the table wiped down and the first load of the dishwasher humming away in the kitchen. Sweeping the floor, too, went by faster than Nikki had expected, though it also became soon apparent that they wouldn’t get the glitter cleared without the aid of a vacuum cleaner. Nikki made the executive decision to leave that particular battle for the morning. 

Once the brooms and dustpans were cleaned up again, they turned their attention to the sleeping pair at the table.

“They can’t stay there like that all night,” Kimi said.

Loathe as Nikki was to wake them, she had to agree. If nothing else, Bobo’s back wouldn’t thank them in the morning if they left them there.

“I get Bobo, and you take Momo?” she suggested, and Kimi agreed.

Nikki gently shook Bobo by the shoulder, coaxing her awake. Bobo grumbled, her eyes still half-closed, but after a few moments she let Nikki urge her to her feet and followed her over to the sofa. There, Bobo collapsed onto it face-first, and for all intents and purposes seemed to go straight back to sleep. At the same time, Kimi picked Momo up off of the cake platter and disappeared through the doorway, bringing him up to his cat bed upstairs. 

Nikki dug around in her hall closet until she found a spare blanket, and she was just draping it over Bobo when Kimi returned, sans cat. Grabbing the now-vacated cake platter, they retreated into the kitchen. 

This time, Kimi accepted Nikki’s offer of cake. She ate it standing up, leaning against the kitchen counter, the cake quickly disappearing in tiny, elegant bites. When she finished, she set her plate aside with the remaining dishes waiting to be washed, and cleared her throat. Her cheeks were a little red. 

“I have something for you.”

Nikki followed her out into the hallway. Kimi flipped on a light, and Nikki saw a bulky garment bag that she hadn’t noticed before leaning against the front door. 

As Nikki started unzipping the bag, Kimi continued, “I wanted to get it finished earlier, so that you could wear it to the party—but unfortunately, I didn’t manage it in time

Nikki only half-heard her. Her breath caught in her throat as she finally got the bag open. The dress lying inside was _gorgeous_. It shimmered even under the yellow hall light, all blazing white and soft pinks. She pulled it out, holding it out in the air before her. White gauze covered a fitted bodice, with embroidered layers of gauze hanging over a white underskirt edged with pink. She fingered the cloth beneath; it felt silken to the touch. And that neckline— And those _roses_ , delicate and pink and somehow completely avoiding the gaudiness that rose-based designs so often fell prey to—

Clutching it to her chest, she turned to Kimi, her eyes shining.

“It’s _perfect_ ,” she breathed, cutting right into whatever Kimi was saying. “Will you help me put it on?”

Kimi looked pleased. 

Wearing the dress was even better than looking at it, and not just because of the way Kimi’s small fingers felt against her skin as she did up the tiny buttons lining the back of the dress. It simply _felt_ right against Nikki’s skin, and when she looked in the mirror she was struck all over again by how beautiful it was. It fitted perfectly. 

She twirled, enjoying the feeling of the skirts around her legs. 

“It’s perfect,” she repeated. The corners of her mouth ached from smiling, but she couldn’t stop. “Kimi, this is wonderful. _You’re_ wonderful.”

“No— _you’re_ the wonderful one,” Kimi said, her eyes intent. “A designer is only as good as their stylist.”

Nikki couldn’t help it. Her heart overflowing with emotion, she leaned down and kissed her, trying to put all of her adoration and enthusiasm into that kiss. Kimi clutched at her shoulders; her mouth tasted sweet now, after the cake she had eaten. Nikki chased after that sweetness, pulling Kimi close to her. 

Finally, they broke apart, breathing heavily, their mouths swollen from kissing. Kimi leaned her forehead against Nikki’s, her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

“Do you want to go and see if we can find some shoes to go with it?” she asked after a moment, and Nikki laughed in true delight, the sound joyous and bright.

**Author's Note:**

> The dress Kimi gives Nikki here is the [Drop of Dream](https://ln.nikkis.info/wardrobe/dress/1578) dress from the [Song of Youth](https://ln.nikkis.info/wardrobe/suit/song-of-youth) suit.


End file.
